In the midst of a busy time of year when we are all dealing with threats to humanities funding on the one hand and the pressure to engage with AI on the other, I want to remind you of all the MAA has to offer in open-access non-AI-infiltrated Digital Medieval Studies. You may not realize these resources are available to you!
1) Database of Medieval Digital Resources (MDR): MDR is a curated database of nearly 300 peer-reviewed digital resources for the study of the Middle Ages. Users can browse an alphabetical list or search using controlled-vocabulary subject tags to find vetted online resources of many types, including: imagebanks; bibliographies and reference works; pedagogical tools; editions and translations; music and other multimedia collections; interpretative websites; and new works of digital scholarship. MDR intentionally does not include resources that are paywalled or require password access, although some resources may have restrictive use-licenses. Resources are selected for MDR by subject and digital specialists with reference to both their content and the rigorous Standards for Web Publication developed by the MAA’s Digital Humanities and Multimedia Studies Committee. Once approved, PIs have the right to include the MAA/MDR Logo on their resource’s homepage, as a way to indicate that the resource has been vetted and approved by the MAA. It is our hope that this imprimateur will help medievalists and others easily find and navigate to open-access, reliable digital resources and help PIs get “credit” for digital work in grant applications, tenure dossiers, and job applications.
After a decade of development and working with different peer-review models, however, it recently became clear to me that the vetting system was breaking down. It was taking much too long for submissions to get through the approval process, frustrating both users and PIs. In response, the MAA Council recently approved several important procedural changes that we hope will expedite the review and approval of submitted resources. While each resource will continue to require two positive reviews in order to be approved, only one of those reviews will be provided by a member of the MDR Committee. The second review will come from an outside subject specialist assigned by the new Manager of the project, MAA staff member Jon Dell Isola, who will also manage the backend of the database. Questions? Email us at MDR@TheMedievalAcademy.org.
Want to submit a digital resource for peer review and potential inclusion in the database? MDR welcomes nominations of resources for inclusion in this growing collection. Please use the Suggest a Resource Form to offer recommendations for inclusion, after first ensuring that the resource is not already part of MDR. Self-nominations are encouraged!
Want to be an MDR Peer Reviewer? In addition to a designated Committee of reviewers, each of whom serves in this capacity for three years, we also welcome volunteers who wish to be assigned resources in their area of expertise to review. Click here to fill out the Volunteer Service Form, and be sure to check the “Medieval Digital Resources Reviewer” box at the bottom of the form (along with any other Committees that appeal to you!). PIs and users will thank you!
2) Library of Digital Latin Texts/ Digital Latin Library: The DLL is a joint project of the Society for Classical Studies, the Medieval Academy of America, and the Renaissance Society of America, hosted by the University of Oklahoma. One benefit to publishing in the LDLT is that editions are published as version-controlled repositories of source files. This means that editions are not tightly bound to interfaces that can and do become obsolete as technology advances. The project prioritizes digital sustainability and open access in preparing and serving critical editions. Authors do not need previous TEI/XML experience to be part of the project; the DLL team is available to assist with encoding! In partnership with DLL, MAA has published three digital editions so far, and several more are under development. Click here for more information.
3) eBooks: Sixty-three volumes in the Medieval Academy Books series are part of the Humanities eBook database. Many more MAA publications are available for download in various digital formats on our website, and of course as an MAA member you have access to the entire digital run of Speculum.
4) Database subscription discounts: MAA members can purchase discounted subscriptions to JSTOR and other bibliographic databases here and here.
5) Reviews of Digital Resources in Speculum: Speculum DH Reviews Editor Laura Morreale is now accepting self-nominations to review recent digital projects (ideally from the past 3 years) which address the following themes or methodologies: Medieval women and gender; Medieval law and/or legal cultures; Maps and mapping (projects on other themes and methodologies will be solicited soon!). To qualify for consideration, projects must be fully documented and catalogued in an online repository prior to review. For more information, please see the call for projects on the MAA blog.
6) Digital Humanities and Multimedia Studies Prize: Each year, the MAA honors one DH project with the Digital Humanities and Multimedia Studies Prize. You can submit a resource for consideration here. Self-nominations are encouraged!
I hope you will take advantage of all of these resources. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out anytime.
– Lisa
Lisa Fagin Davis
Executive Director
LFD@TheMedievalAcademy.org
